3 Must-Do Hacks to Protect your HEALTH

Someone asked me the other day how to be optimally healthy in 3 steps.

Wow…. I thought it impossible to answer at first.

Then I thought about it, and surmised 20 years of education and experience into 3 key points!

These points are all body-based – so the mental and spiritual realms of wellness are a totally separate aspect not covered in this article. Instead, these points are what we need for a healthy body.

1. Understand your symptoms better than any expert

Most people who have gone through health challenges to come out the other end better for it, became highly educated in their health concern.

This means not accepting limited information from a doctor or specialist that leaves you unsure about what they mean, or without real, solid answers.

It also means not ignoring your body’s signs and cues. That reflux at night, trouble sleeping, fatigue, or weight gain are all signs of imbalance.

I would say 100% of our patients have significant relief and empowerment after they have done thorough testing because they finally understand why they feel the way they do. It’s all out there on the table, so many questions are answered.

I have an example of a lady who had her Report of Findings appointment just this week.

She was so tired, but could often push through with will power and get things done, or do some exercise, but then would be left exhausted. On days she overdid it, it could take 3 days to feel somewhat normal again.

Her doctor had no answers for her, and had offered antidepressants, which she declined.

When her practitioner explained her functional testing results, the light bulb flicked ON and she finally understood WHY she felt that way, and with treatment and attention to her habits, she will be feeling better in a few weeks.

BTW – if you are wondering why she felt like that, she had low cortisol due to steroid pathways not converting hormones properly due to methylation issues (a genetic factor) and severe nutrient deficiency from years of high performance. Her thyroid was low due to severe iodine deficiency as well, and toxic bromide levels were pretty high. Her treatment entails detoxification support, nutrient correction therapy, and lifestyle modification to support this phase of healing.

2. Learn how to eat for YOUR best health

Diets are tricky, and what will actually benefit you depending on your goals is really variable.

Factors that make this variable are:

Eating habits and preferences
Food intolerances
Functional health issues – such as autoimmune disease, gut health issues, or structural changes due to surgery.
Your goal – weight loss, gain or maintenance.
Genetic and familial individual traits – eg blood type, methylation status, COMP gene, etc.
Carbohydrate sensitivity – this is tied into more complex hormonal issues such as cortisol, blood sugars, leptin and other hormones that manage our energy.

People who reclaim their health develop a very different attitude to food and eating. They use mindfulness when preparing the food, gratitude when choosing their organic findings, they eat slower, savoring the taste of their food. And the biggest shift is that they PREFER healthy food to junk foods. This can take some time, but we have many fast food converts in our community who now prefer a salad loaded with protein, avocado, organic foods and maybe a sprinkle of quinoa.

We have great results with a diet approach created with a Food Intolerance report. Food intolerances are classified as specific proteins that create an iGG antibody response in the gut. This is mediated by the immune system, so can trigger other autoimmune issues such as Hashimoto’s, fibromyalgia or rheumatoid arthritis. Some responses can take 3 days to trigger, making accurate connection to food with observation alone unreliable and time consuming.

Below is an example of a Food Intolerance Test report covering vegetables. Yes, you can develop an intolerance to even celery!!!

3. Movement – understanding your body’s needs

We evolved running and resting. Basic as that. However, today, with all our modern conveniences, movement looks very different for the average person.

‘Sitting is the new smoking’ is a very real term that warns us about the future health problems we are going to be seeing due to the amount of sitting the average person is doing now.

Many of us are sitting at a desk, working under pressure (a.k.a STRESS) and are so mentally exhausted after the day that we don’t want to exercise for 40 minutes.

Evidence shows that regular movement throughout the day is more beneficial for our health than one chunk of high intensity exercise.

This means getting up and moving every 30 minutes, maybe doing some squats or pushups, and just USING our body many, many times a day, rather than being sedentary for 23 hours, and active for 1.

High intensity movement is still beneficial for our cardiovascular system, heart health, and muscle tone, but recent research is showing that we only need 20 minutes of high intensity exercise 3 times a week, coupled with regular movement through the day to maintain our our best health.

I don’t know about you, but that sounds do-able to me!